Figure Reproducibility

Image from wikipedia

The goal of this assignment it to provide complete instructions about how figures and visualizations are generated. All figures you generate as part of your project should follow these guildlines in your final deliverables. This milestone is for you to complete at least one figure and demonstrate your understanding of what is expected.

1. Deliverables

Generate a file (typically a jupyter notebook, although a markdown file may also be appropriate) with complete instructions that describe how you created each of your figures for your project. Basically any figure you generate should have complete instructions about how that figure was generated.

More than one file is acceptable as ALL of your figures will need an associated instruction file in your final deliverables.

2. What to include

Typical instructions should include the following:

Description of the figure(s) the instructions are for and where the figure is used (In your presentation, in your reports, etc.)
Link to instructions to install required software and dependencies (ex your INSTALL.md file).
Instructions to download the data needed for this figure (code is good).
Code in generate the required data and do any munging or analysis.
Code to generate the figure or visualizations.
Code to add formating such as axes labels, titles, etc.
Code to export a file.

As much as possible try to automate the instructions. The best instructions will just allow the reader to run the notebook and produce the figure. However, that may not be possible. Instead you need to include steps that include any manual steps.

It is also acceptable for a single notebook to generate multiple related figures.

Getting credit for your assignment

Commit at least one figure instruction file to your project git repository on or before the due date. Make sure it is clear where the file is located (i.e. update your README.md file). Your instructor will download your repository and check your instructions and try to reproduce your results.

Written by Dr. Dirk Colbry, Michigan State University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.